NORTHFACE [Review]

[Misawa]

My latest Screenjabber DVD review: Northface.

It's what we call an "also out" mini review for minor releases.

****

Phillip Stolzl’s dramatic and suspenseful vision of a relentlessly terrifying true story. Set against a pre-war Nazi backdrop in 1936, two climbers are faced with the challenge of being the first in the world to conquer the merciless 1800 metre-plus North Face of Eiger Mountain, nicknamed “The Murder Wall”. With all of Nazi Germany supporting them, the climbers begin their incredible journey up the snow-capped mountain and almost immediately enter a perilous fray of Mother Nature’s stormy fury, leading to accidents and injuries. What begins as a challenge to scale the mountain and reach its peak quickly escalates into a no holds barred lives-on-the-line fight for survival, filled with tragedy and riveting suspense. Northface is an honest and believably realistic retelling of Toni Kurz and Andreas Hinterstoisser’s 1936 climb.

Extras: Making of documentary, deleted scenes, visual effects documentary, cast and crew biographies, theatrical and exclusive trailers, timeline of attempts to scale the Eiger Mountain, documentary on the myth of the mountain, and an interview with the director and cinematographer.

IMDb